The crystal structure of the bacterial 70S ribosome refined to 2.8 angstrom resolution reveals atomic details of its interactions with messenger RNA (mRNA) and transfer RNA (tRNA). A metal ion stabilizes a kink in the mRNA that demarcates the boundary between A and P sites, which is potentially important to prevent slippage of mRNA. Metal ions also stabilize the intersubunit interface. The interactions of E-site tRNA with the 50S subunit have both similarities and differences compared to those in the archaeal ribosome. The structure also rationalizes much biochemical and genetic data on translation.
Elongation factor G (EF-G) is a GTPase that plays a crucial role in the translocation of tRNAs and mRNA during translation by the ribosome. We report a crystal structure refined to 3.6 Å resolution of the ribosome trapped with EF-G in the post-translocational state using the antibiotic fusidic acid. Fusidic acid traps EF-G in a conformation intermediate between the GTP and GDP forms. The interaction of EF-G with ribosomal elements implicated in stimulating catalysis, such as the L10-L12 stalk and the L11 region, and of domain IV of EF-G with P-site tRNA and mRNA shed light on various aspects of EF-G function in catalysis and translocation. The stabilization of the mobile stalks of the ribosome also results in a more complete description of its structure.
The ribosome selects a correct tRNA for each amino acid added to the polypeptide chain, as directed by mRNA. Aminoacyl-tRNA is delivered to the ribosome by Elongation Factor-Tu (EFTu), which hydrolyzes GTP and releases tRNA in response to codon recognition. The signaling pathway that leads to GTP hydrolysis upon codon recognition is critical to accurate decoding. Here we present the crystal structure of the ribosome complexed with EF-Tu and aminoacyltRNA, refined to 3.6 Å resolution. The structure reveals details of the tRNA distortion that allows aminoacyl-tRNA to interact simultaneously with the decoding center of the 30S subunit and EFTu at the factor-binding site. A series of conformational changes in EF-Tu and aminoacyl-tRNA suggest a communication pathway between the decoding center and the GTPase center of EF-Tu.
Protein synthesis requires several GTPase factors, including Elongation Factor Tu (EF-Tu), which delivers aminoacyl-tRNAs to the ribosome. In order to understand how the ribosome triggers GTP hydrolysis in translational GTPases, we have determined the crystal structure of EF-Tu and aminoacyl-tRNA bound to the ribosome with a GTP analog, to 3.2 Å resolution. EF-Tu is in its active conformation, the Switch I loop is ordered, and the catalytic histidine is coordinating the nucleophilic water in position for in-line attack on the γ-phosphate of GTP. This activated conformation is due to a critical and conserved interaction of the histidine with A2662 of the Sarcin-Ricin Loop of the 23S rRNA. The structure suggests a universal mechanism for GTPase activation and hydrolysis in translational GTPases on the ribosome.
The termination of protein synthesis occurs through the specific recognition of a stop codon in the A site of the ribosome by a release factor (RF), which then catalyzes the hydrolysis of the nascent protein chain from the P-site transfer RNA. Here we present, at a resolution of 3.5 angstroms, the crystal structure of RF2 in complex with its cognate UGA stop codon in the 70S ribosome. The structure provides insight into how RF2 specifically recognizes the stop codon; it also suggests a model for the role of a universally conserved GGQ motif in the catalysis of peptide release.
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